I went still. “He?”

“The monster.” Her voice went flat, hollow. “I never knew my father. My mom left him before I was born so I didn’t know who he was then, but it wouldn’t have mattered. I still would’ve run. He was there to cause harm.” Her body tensed in my arms.

I’d never felt so useless. How do you protect against a goddamn nightmare?

“My mom told me to hide, so I ran to Shoal.” Her bottom lip jerked, but that was it. “He searched the whole day for me. He left once, but he only moved his car so that they wouldn’t know he’d been there. He parked it farther down the road, pulling off and hiding it behind some trees.”

“He was searching for you?”

She said, almost dully, “He looked until they started looking for me. I heard the search dogs barking, and it wasn’t long after that when his smell left.”

“Jesus, Morgan.” I rested my cheek on top of her head. “I’m so sorry.”

My arms tightened around her. I would’ve held her for the rest of the day, for the rest of her life. I didn’t want to let her go, but she had a different idea. Hunger darkened her gaze, and she turned in my arms. She moved to straddle me, and I knew what she wanted when her lips found mine.

She wanted to forget.

I was sliding into her again moments later, but this time was different. Maybe I was trying to make sure we both forgot our haunts.

Or maybe it was the first time I felt like I was making love to someone.

Morgan

Brody’s manager arrived to drive him to where they were shooting.

I was in his room when she knocked outside, and he dropped a quick kiss to me before going to let her in. As she entered, I exited, jumping down from the patio. Shiloh had been calling for me all morning, so I knew she’d be waiting.

As soon as I climbed over the fence, she was there.

I jumped on, and she tore off.

Our rides had been cut drastically over the last week, but not then. Not today. I wanted to ride with her. I wanted to feel as if we were flying.

I felt her body rippling under me, mirroring my need.

Too much time apart wasn’t good for us, either of us.

I lie against her back and rested my cheek on her neck, my arms wrapping around her, and I closed my eyes. Wherever she took me, I would be fine.

Brody

Gayle had been giving me a weird look since she had shown up at the cabin. After the tenth sneak peek, I sighed and looked over. “What?”

She was pulling into the lot, and I watched as she parked behind a trailer. “Nothing.”

I climbed out, grabbing my bag of extra clothes from the backseat. Shutting my door, I shot her a look back over the top of the car. “That look doesn’t say nothing. It says something. What’s going on with you?”

She paused, resting her arm on the car. “It’s just . . . you look good, like really good.”

I only shrugged. “I worked out a lot. I went on runs every day, and I did a whole bunch of meditation shit.”

“You weren’t drinking?”

“I already told when you checked on me, and every time you called—no. No booze. I swear. I didn’t even leave the property. You bought me enough food to last the week.”

“No, I know.” She held a hand up, as if she were going to back off. “You look good. I’m proud of you.”

I noted, dryly, “I never had a drinking problem. I just drank too much.”

“Brody!”

Shanna shouted my name. She waved, trying not to drop the clipboard she was holding, and Gayle and I headed her way.

Gayle said, “You drank too much for eight months.”

I wanted to remind her why I started, but bit the words down. It didn’t matter. In her eyes, it was time to get moving forward, and I needed to follow through. I signed a contract. I agreed to do this movie, and I was so damned grateful for it.

“Brody!” Shanna said again, opening her arms and engulfing me in a hug. She clasped me to her, patting my back twice. “It’s good to see you. Shit. You look good, real good.” She held me at arm’s length, holding on to my biceps. “You’re right, Gayle. He looks a hundred percent better. Whatever you did, it worked. You look like the actor we hired for this movie and not a washed-up drunk. Damn time.”

“Thank you.”

There were so many smart-ass comments I could’ve made then, but I refrained.

“No more drinking?”

“No more drinking.”

Shanna glanced to Gayle, who nodded. “That’s what he said, and it seems to be the case.”

I leveled them both with a look. “You guys are so trusting, I’m amazed.”

Shanna laughed, patting me one last time before gesturing back toward the cameras. “We had to rearrange the schedule. Did you get the updated script?”

I nodded. “Gayle dropped it off when she checked on me.”

“Fabulous.” Shanna waved over my shoulder. “Your trailer is behind you, and you have thirty minutes before your scene starts. Now scoot. We’ve wasted enough time. We only have so much sunlight.”

I didn’t need the thirty.

Fifteen minutes later, Kara and I were running lines until Shanna signaled for us to start filming. I checked my watch. It was exactly another fifteen minutes later. Shanna was punctual, which was a benefit because everything had to run smoothly or our shooting time would’ve lasted until the next day. Instead, she called the final cut for the night ten hours later. It was around eight in the evening.